At least two clashes between regime forces and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) erupted near Watchaung village, 22 miles (35 km) north of the Tanintharyi Region capital Dawei Township last week, following the deployment of 1,000 troops to secure the Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) ahead of regime leader Min Aung Hlaing’s visit to Moscow.
No casualties were reported by either side. The Dawei SEZ, composed of a deep sea port, an oil refinery, and a coal-fired power plant, was one of the 12 deals signed between Min Aung Hlaing and President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Aug. 17-18.
The Karen National Union (KNU), the KNLA political wing, designates Dawei and Myeik, located 152 miles (244 km) south of Dawei, as its Brigade 4 territory.
Regime spokesperson Khaing Khaing Soe told pro-regime media on Aug. 23 that a liquified natural gas (LNG) refinery will also be included in the Dawei SEZ, as Myanmar will begin to export LNG to neighboring countries.
She didn’t specify whether the LNG would be sourced from Russia or Myanmar. President Putin said that there were “good prospects” for exporting LNG to Myanmar for domestic use and transit to neighboring countries.
“Naypyidaw really cares about the Dawei port because they want to get investment and foreign exchange,” Richard Horsey, Senior Asia Advisor at the International Crisis Group (ICG), told DVB.
The stalled Dawei SEZ project was initiated in 2008 between Thailand and a previous Myanmar regime. A 60-year land concession was granted to Italian-Thai Development (ITD), a Thai construction company, to develop the project in Dawei in 2010.
During Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) administration prior to the military coup in February 2021, the SEZ Management Committee terminated ITD’s concession agreements to develop the initial phase.
The NLD government cited repeated delays, breaches of financial obligations, and failure to demonstrate sufficient financial capacity.
The Dawei SEZ project was revived by Moscow and the regime in Naypyidaw in March 2025. But there has been no report on the implementation of the initial phase of the project.
Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow told Thai media that the Dawei deep sea port could create another route for Thai imports and exports, reducing dependence on existing maritime routes through the Strait of Malacca following the Thai-Russian Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation in Moscow on Aug. 14.
Tanintharyi Region shares a border with Thailand’s Kanchanaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon, and Ranong provinces.
